Dreamcast lives! Kind of

Dreamcast lives! Kind of

Tuesday 25 January 2005 17.02 EST
First published on Tuesday 25 January 2005 17.02 EST

Top videogames import site Lik-Sang recently reported on two new Dreamcast releases, Inhabitants and Maqiupai. Naturally, these aren't products of the mainstream industry (which deserted the Dreamcast a long, long time ago - in fact while I was still editing a magazine dedicated to the bloody thing), they come from the still thriving DC homebrew scene, a worldwide network of coding enthusiasts who develop and distribute their own apps for Sega's groundbreaking 128bit games console.

Of course, homebrew development isn't exclusive to the Dreamcast console (check out Console Vision for the latest news), but the combination of accessible architecture, cult appeal and a decent amount of RAM have made it something of a bedroom coding superstar. How typical of Sega to create a machine that could only ever be fully appreciated by a faithful and dedicated minority.

You can find out more about homebrew Dreamcast projects here and here.

All too retro for ya? Well, the homebrew scene has already begun analysing the PSP, discussing the possibility of uploading games onto a Memory Stick and then running them on the sexy handheld. Sony's anti-piracy controls are likely to prove a significant obstacle, though. If you're interested in running homebrew games, emus or classic game conversions while on the go, formats like the N-Gage and Tapwave Zodiac are your best bet at the moment. Head over to this site for C64, Spectrum and Mega Drive emulators, and N-Gage conversions of Doom and, erm, Frogger!